Key Points

Sensex closed at 81,463.09, down 721.08 or 0.88 per cent. The 30-share index started the trade in negative territory at 82,066.76 against the previous session's closing of 82,184.17. The UK-India FTA failed to push a rally; instead, the index fell over 950 points to hit an intraday low at 81,397.69.

Nifty settled at 24,837.0, down 225.10 or 0.90 per cent.

"The broader market sentiment remained bearish throughout, with pronounced weakness evident across Media, Energy, Oil & Gas, PSU Bank, Auto, and IT sectors," said Ashika Institutional Equities in its note.

Overall, the market tone was convincingly risk-off, accentuated by sectoral headwinds and a break of pivotal index support levels, suggesting that caution may prevail in the near term, the note added.

Bajaj Finance, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj FinServ, Infosys, Trent, Tata Motors, NTPC, Maruti Suzuki, SBI, Tata Steel, and HCL Tech were the top losers among the Sensex basket. While Sun Pharma and Bharti Airtel were settled in green.

Not only heavyweights, but the selling pressure was extended to the broader market as well.

Nifty 100 tanked 259 points or 1 per cent, Nifty Midcap 100 dragged down 951 points or 1.61 per cent, while Nifty Smallcap 100 settled 392.35 points or 2.10 per cent.

The sectoral indices also plunged amid heavy selling. Nifty Bank tanked 537 points or 0.94 per cent, Nifty Fin Service fell 238 points or 0.88 per cent, Nifty Auto settled 305 points or 1.27 per cent lower, and Nifty IT ended the session down 305 points or 1.27 per cent.

Rupee traded weak, slipping below 86.50 with a 0.13 per cent decline against the dollar, as the dollar traded higher near 97.68. Rising dollar strength and profit booking in capital markets weighed on the rupee.

"Market focus now shifts to next week’s US Federal Reserve interest rate decision, where mixed views are expected amid US government pressure for a rate cut. In the near term, the rupee is likely to trade in a range of 86.00–87.00," said Jateen Trivedi of LKP Securities.

- IANS